Chetla Sarbasadharaner Durgotsab

“Gangar paschim kul, Baranasir samotul”- This is an ancient saying that means all that lies on the western banks of the Ganges is equivalent to Baranasi. Giving way to this phrase,the history of the 91 years old Durga Puja at Prasannamayee Ghat, the OLDEST in South Calcutta is herein stated. On the western bank of the river Ganga on the auspicious morning of “Devipaksha” in 1926 AD – Late Shri Bas

anta Bhattacharjee discovered a metal figurine of the Goddesses Durga. It was set to be made out of a combination of eight metals (commonly known as Astadhatu). The place from where the figurine was discovered is the“Prasannamayee Ghat” (named after a lady name Dasi Prasannamayee ) . Late Shri Basanta Bhattacharjee was the first priest of the Durga Puja which started in 1334 (Bengali Calendar) i.e. 1926. Since then the Puja is being held at the same venue, except for a couple of years when it was shifted to the Chetla park due to some urgencies that had cropped-up way back in the 1930s. But, after a gap of two years the Puja returned to it’s original venue, the roots being at the “Prasannamayee Ghat”. For more than two decades of its existence, ours was the sole Durga Puja which had been dedicated to the people i.e. “Sarbosadharan”. Many famous families of Chetla has patronized the Puja from it’s initial days. The Pals, the Gangulys, theMishras,the Singhis, the Auddys, the Brahmas, the Sahas, the Duttas, the Mitras, the Chandras, the Bhattacharjees and many other reputed families did come forward to contribute to the Puja in their own ways. One famous personality of the yesteryear, who played an active part in our Durga Puja was Late Shri Moni Sanyal-the Ex-Deputy Mayor of Calcutta Municipal Corporation. All of this history has been derived from Late Shri Amarendranath Bhattacharjee and Late Shri Biren Sarkar, through whom it has been passed onto the generations succeeding them.